Most stringed instruments, such as the violin, cello, guitar or banjo, include a body portion, a neck and a peghead. They also, of course, have strings which are stretched across the body and along the neck between a bridge on the body and the peghead. Importantly, in order for the instrument to be tuned, the strings must be placed in a proper state of tension. Moreover, it is necessary that the instrument remain tuned while it is being played.
Structurally, the neck of a stringed instrument is important for both mechanical and acoustic reasons. In more detail, these reasons include: strength, stability, resonance, and weight and balance. Strength of the neck is important so that the tension that is required to keep the instrument in tune can be sustained for relatively long periods of time. Stability of the neck is important in order to minimize or effectively eliminate the adverse effects of external factors such as temperature and humidity. Not surprisingly, some resonance in the neck is required to augment the instruments ability to amplify and radiate sound. Additionally, weight and balance considerations for the neck are important insofar as these considerations give the musician a "feel" and an "affinity" for the instrument.
For the construction of early stringed instruments, great reliance was placed on obtaining the proper materials. Specifically, this meant selecting the appropriate hardwoods that would provide the proper qualities of resonance and tonality for the instrument. The appropriate hardwoods are, however, difficult to come by. Thus, in more recent years, with the development of improved materials, synthetic materials have been used for the manufacturing of stringed instruments with varying degrees of acceptability. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,362 which issued to Lieber for an invention entitled "Guitar Construction" discloses a guitar which has a plastic shell into which foam is shot to give the guitar some structure. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,948 which issued to Turner for an invention entitled "Graphite Composite Neck for Stringed Musical Instruments" disclosed an instrument having a body made of wood and a dimensionally stable neck which is made of a graphite fiber reinforced plastic material. Yet another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,542 which issued to Chen for an invention entitled "Electric Guitar Neck" and which discloses a neck with a wood core and a fiber reinforced plastic coating.
In the above examples, where wood is used, there is still susceptibility to warping and distortions which will adversely affect the tonality and stability of the neck. Where hollow structures are disclosed, the resonance of the instrument can be adversely affected. Further, where synthetic materials are used there may be some need for additional reinforcement rods which can adversely affect the weight and balance of the instrument.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a neck for a stringed instrument, and its method of manufacture, which provide for improved stability and, therefore, requires less tuning. Another object of the present invention is to provide a neck for a stringed instrument, and its method of manufacture, which is less susceptible to external factors such as temperature and humidity. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a neck for a stringed instrument which does not rely on the acquisition of difficult to obtain hardwoods. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a neck for a stringed instrument which is capable of providing the strength, stability, resonance and weight and balance characteristics that are desirable for such a musical instrument. Another object of the present invention is to provide a neck for a stringed instrument that is relatively easy to manufacture, simple to use and comparatively cost effective.